In the four-month buildup until Kevin Love was traded to Cleveland on Saturday, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said the franchise sought a cornerstone player who could transform its identity.

In Andrew Wiggins, the Wolves received the No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft, a high-flying, defensively stout 19-year-old who has been compared to former NBA great Dominique Wilkins.

They also received two forwards in 2013 No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, seven-year veteran Thaddeus Young and a trade exception worth about $6.3 million. In exchange, they gave up Love, a perennial all-star who missed the playoffs in all six seasons in Minnesota, as well as Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved.

Anthony Bennett of the UNLV Rebels reacts after a basket during a Dec. 29, 2012, game against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

"We've all of a sudden become athletic, exciting and fast instead of being maybe a little bit slower and more plodding," Saunders said in a news conference after the trade became official.

In the three-team trade, Cleveland gave up Wiggins and Bennett to get Love and put him alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, while Philadelphia gave up Young to get Shved, Mbah a Moute and Miami's 2015 first-round pick that came from Cleveland.

When it became evident this year that Love would opt out of the final year of his contract (2015-16) and sign elsewhere, Saunders and general manager Milt Newton began entertaining and extracting offers.

Advertisement

"It became very evident to anyone that contacted us that, in order to do something, we were going to demand something in return that was going to benefit us either now or in the future," Saunders said.

With the three new players -- as well as Zach LaVine, the No. 13 pick in this year's draft -- Saunders said the Wolves have an identity that includes the athletic, two-way players they lacked when he was hired as president last year.

In this April 5, 2014, file photo, Philadelphia 76ers' Thaddeus Young goes to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets during an NBA basketball game in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez, File)

With Wiggins and LaVine making plays at the rim, Saunders called it "a point guard's delight" for Ricky Rubio, who can become more of an on-court leader with Love gone.

Before they take the court, Wiggins, Bennett and Young will be introduced at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Minnesota State Fair. LaVine, who is close with Wiggins, will join them.

The Wiggins-Wilkins comparison came from Stu Jackson, an NBA TV analyst as well as a former Vancouver Grizzlies and NBA executive.

Like Wiggins, Wilkins never played a game for the team that drafted him. Before the 1982-83 season, he was traded from Utah to Atlanta, where he became a scoring champion, slam-dunk champion and nine-time all-star.

"He has the huge, athletic wow factor that Dominique always had," Jackson said of Wiggins. "He has the ability to create shots that most other players can only dream of creating: the step-back, the spins, the one-foot takeoff, the two-foot takeoff."

In addition to Wiggins' speed and "limitless" athleticism, the game comes easily to him, Jackson said.

"In other words, his skills are innate, while not polished," he added. "His ability to slash to the basket, put the ball on the floor, his intuitive sense and habit of creating space on his jump shot."

While Wiggins likely will be able to get to the rim, finishing there will take time because Jackson doesn't believe he is strong enough right now.

Saunders said Wiggins, who is 6 feet 8 and has a 7-foot wingspan, can guard four positions, from point guard to power forward.

"It's much easier to develop that young talent if you can put him on the floor where he isn't a defensive liability in real games," Jackson said.

In Young, the Wolves will get a veteran presence to go with Wiggins, Bennett and LaVine, who are all 20 or younger. Young, 26, will be in the older half of players on the current roster.

"We felt, with the young players that we have, that if we could get a solid, veteran guy that has (been) basically a borderline all-star statistically, that would help us," Saunders said.

Young has two years and more than $19 million remaining on his current contract but can exercise an early-termination option after next season.

In Bennett, the Wolves get a reclamation project who had a dismal rookie season after Cleveland made him the top overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Saunders said former Cavs coach Mike Brown told him that Bennett was one of the team's better pick-and-roll defenders. During summer league play in Las Vegas, Bennett looked to be in better shape than he was during his injury-affected rookie season, Saunders added.

The Wolves have about 6,500 season-ticket holders and have seen significant sales in the past month, which is usually a quiet period for ticket sales and interest in the team.

There is optimism that a sharp increase in fan interest and ticket sales will continue through training camp in October and beyond.

"We're not trying to get a team that's going to become a playoff team whether it be one, two, three or four (years)," Saunders said. "We're trying to get a team put together that has the ability to try to compete in the upper echelon in the Western Conference and in the league. We feel, with the talent that we brought in, that those guys have that type of ability. Now it's a matter of us working with them and getting them to reach that potential."